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Knowledge utilisation in the South African wine industry

Boshoff, Stephanus Cornelius (2012-12)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.

Thesis

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of knowledge that is based on scientific research plays an important role in the development and international competitiveness of a country’s wine industry. In order for South Africa to effectively compete with other wine industries in the global market, and to ensure that it produces quality wines that can satisfy consumer demands and expectations, it needs to use the best of current research knowledge available. However, it is unknown to what extent South African winemakers are using knowledge based on scientific research, as well as where and how winemakers obtain knowledge, and how new knowledge is treated against the backdrop of a winemaker’s own experience and existing practice knowledge.
The study, which addressed these broad questions, included a literature overview as well as a web-based survey of 210 winemakers in South Africa. Interviews were also conducted with six winemakers and three wine consultants. On the basis of the literature the key notions of “knowledge” and “utilisation” were unpacked. Knowledge was interpreted as either factual (know-that) or practical (know-how), and utilisation as a typology consisting of instrumental, conceptual, symbolic and persuasive utilisation. Insights from a body of literature not typically associated with winemaking, namely evidence-based medicine (EBM) and knowledge translation (KT), were also incorporated in the study. The study not only examined the frequency of using knowledge sources but also the relative importance of the different knowledge sources and the underlying structure of the sources (i.e. which sources group together). The results unequivocally showed that practical knowledge (i.e. knowledge that is exhibited in practice and which finds expression as moments of “common sense”, intuition, gut feeling etc.) is considered by many winemakers as extremely important for their winemaking. Opinions of fellow-winemakers also appeared to be an important knowledge source as about 46% of winemakers said that they seek advice from colleagues at least once a month and 57% rated these as of extreme importance for winemaking. Knowledge sources that are codified and publicly available, such as Wynboer in the industry-based WineLand magazine as well as the internet and winemaking textbooks and manuals, have grouped together and were considered as relatively important by winemakers.
Overall the study produced evidence of the widespread use of scientific research findings, particularly conceptual use of research. The latter refers to a better understanding of certain aspects of winemaking that is based on scientific research. In addition, the elements of practical knowledge have also been explored within the context of winemaking. Additional insights were provided with regard to the relationship between practical and factual knowledge as well as the relationship between different conceptions of knowledge use, and how knowledge sources relate to knowledge use. The findings and subsequent insights generated undoubtedly apply beyond studies of the knowledge use of winemakers.
Lastly, a key output of the study was to develop a normative model of knowledge uptake for winemakers. The proposed model combines practical knowledge and research-based factual knowledge in a single knowledge product destined for uptake by winemakers, in order to close the knowledge-to-practice gap.